FF6: Cosmic Love
by shannyfish
Summary: Set post "Unthinkable" and sometime after that. Starling City has been rebuilt, but the Glades has been forgotten. Oliver and Felicity are the only ones who keep the Glades safe at night. For SmoaknArrow's Olicity Flash Fiction Prompt #6: In the Dark


And in the dark, I can hear your heartbeat

I tried to find the sound

But then it stopped, and I was in the darkness

So darkness I became  
"Cosmic Love" ~ Florence & the Machine

. . .

They had been doing rounds when they'd heard a woman screaming. Naturally, they'd gone to investigate things and had found three men who had a woman pinned up against a wall. They were in the Glades, so it really wasn't surprising. The police hardly ever entered the Glades anymore, they suck very closely within Starling City proper and so they were left to patrol the downtrodden neighborhood.

After Malcolm Merlyn had set off the second earthquake device, half of the Glades had been destroyed. Oliver had wanted to try to help rebuild it then, so had his mother...and Sebastian Blood. They were both dead now. As far as she knew, Slade Wilson had killed them both. That was before his army had pretty much destroyed more of the Glades and Starling City. After that, Starling City proper had been rebuilt, but the Glades had almost been forgotten. It was almost to the point where Felicity was surprised that a wall hadn't been built to separate the city and the Glades.

Oliver moved down first, this was how it worked.

Even though she had training, it wasn't as extensive as Oliver had had. So, she'd agreed to keep back at first. She never liked it, but it what they'd agreed on and it was what had worked this long. It was just the two of them now. Diggle was away working with ARGUS, which was good. He and Lyla had an adorable townhouse in Central City and they were able to come home to their son everyday. Sara was in Nanda Parbat with Nyssa, but the two of them would drop by to check on Detective Lance.

"Kill him!" one of the men yelled as two of them moved closer to Oliver.

Oliver hadn't shot from up on his perch because they'd been too close to the woman. Even if he'd used a dart, there was too much risk in it. They needed to be careful and they needed to be smart. The only way that they could get the cops to do anything was if the Arrow called Starling City Police, normally Detective Lance, and gave them the location and the offense. The police never questioned anything from the Arrow after Slade destroyed things. Felicity always thought that was odd even though she was almost relieved that the Arrow wasn't constantly being pursued by the police anymore.

The sound of a police siren chirping and the quick cycle of lights shocked Felicity. She searched the area and finally laid her eyes on the vehicle. Felicity could see that the appearance of the police car was a changing factor below her. The woman was running towards the police while one of the three men had already fled when Felicity looked to count them. Oliver was busy fighting and Felicity expected the police to just stand there and let him do all the work.

"Lower your weapons! Get on the ground!" the police called from their cars. Their weapons were drawn.

Felicity moved, staying in the shadows like she had been taught, downward towards Oliver. She was about to join in the fight when gunfire rang out.

"Stop! He was helping me!" Felicity heard the woman scream.

As Felicity ran out to grab Oliver and yank him back, she'd already seen him get hit once, she could hear Detective Lance's voice over the police radio telling them to stand down. It echoed off the crumbling brick, loud and clear. "I can't believe they shot at you," she grumbled as she pulled him in the opposite direction.

"Not /at/," Oliver told her as he pulled away from her. "They shot me!"

He sounded just as pissed as she was, but they kept moving. They didn't know who the officers were and they couldn't be sure if they would try to follow or not. Oliver seemed like he was doing okay, that was until they were halfway home.

. . .

"/Don't/ do this to me, Oliver!" she yelled as she tried to stop the bleeding.

Felicity felt helpless. It had been hard enough to get him back to the Foundry, it had been a near miracle to do so. No matter how good of shape Oliver was in, that didn't take away how heavy he was. She was so small compared to his tall, well muscled frame. Felicity had called Diggle and she'd called Sara. No one could help her. They were both overseas. No one was closeby...and she'd promised Oliver on their way home that she wouldn't take him to a hospital or to a doctor. If he was found, the police would arrest him. No one else could know he was the Arrow.

No one else.

Felicity felt light headed and sick as she tried to dig out a bullet from his side. She already had set up an IV with blood pushing into him. He'd lost so much already, she was trying to replace it as quickly as she could. He would stir every now and then and call her name. It didn't help to ease her worry or her fear or stop her stomach from turning.

. . .

She didn't know how much time had passed or how long it had been since he'd whispered her name. All she knew was that she'd pulled six bullets out of him. His blood was on her hands, on the black that she was dressed in. All she wanted was to hear him whisper her name again. Felicity thought about moving him to their bed, but was afraid to move him. Right now, he was alive and breathing. He just needed time to rest in order to heal.

Felicity managed to move another table alongside the one that he was on. She crawled up and carefully fit her body alongside his. She carefully rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat as her arms stretched out to hold him.

"Do you remember when I first found you bleeding in the back of my car?" she whispered through tears. "Okay...maybe /you/ found /me/." Felicity was quiet as she listened to his heart beat. "My back seat till has your blood stains in the seats… You keep promising me that you're going to buy me a new car...and I keep putting it off." She paused to sniffle and wipe tears away. "The truth is that I never want to forget that moment. That moment was really the first moment you showed me who you were… Not the Hood or the Arrow, but the real Oliver Queen."

She always felt like she could see the real Oliver Queen that no one else could see, ever since that day… At the beginning, he'd tried to put crazy lies past her and she'd always seen them for what they were...but she'd always trusted him. She didn't know /why/. There had just been something about Oliver. Something between them had clicked. She didn't know exactly /when/ it had happened or /why/, but it had been there.

That was the moment that Oliver Queen turned into a real, mortal, flesh and blood human being in her eyes; one that the rest of the word didn't see.

"I wish John were here…" she whispered. "He'd have done a better job." Felicity smiled at the thought. She missed Diggle, but she knew that it was better that he and Lyla had a more normal life with their son. They deserved it. She smiled the faintest of smiles. "You'd probably be up right now complaining about the police if he had been here to patch you up…"

"Felicity," he whispered weakly.

"I'm here," she said instantly and her head popped up. her blue eyes searched his face, he still hadn't opened his eyes. "I'm here, Oliver…"

Silence.

"Please," she begged. Felicity framed his face with her hands. "I promise to say 'yes' next time you propose… Anything, Oliver." She leaned down and pressed a long kiss against his lips. Tears just flooded her cheeks as she moved to stare at his face. "Just open your eyes and talk to me!"

Silence.

"Please, Oliver," Felicity whispered through those tears as she gently lowered her head back to his chest. Her hands gripped his lifeless body and just clung to him. Felicity's eyes closed as tears continued to fall.

His heartbeat eventually lulled her into the darkness of sleep.

. . .

When she awoke, she was in darkness. Felicity realized that the lights had automatically gone off after fifteen minutes without some kind of substantial movement. Her head lifted and it was like her world was suddenly crashing down around her. In the darkness there was only silence. She realized that he didn't remember hearing the sound of his heartbeat when she'd originally woken up.

It seemed almost at the same instant that her ear pressed against his bare chest that her heart stopped.

Silence.

There was no heartbeat.

Nothing.

She was all alone.

She gripped him and realized he wasn't as warm as he should have been. A scream escaped her lips as tears were shed anew. Felicity held onto his body, unconsciously rocking herself as the sobs racked her body.

"I love you, Oliver Queen," she whispered at some point. Once she couldn't cry anymore and when she found that she couldn't push screams out of her.

All the times he'd proposed…

All the times she'd said 'no'.

How she wished she could take back all the 'no's and all the reasons why them being married was a bad idea. Why had she followed her head and common sense over her heart? Felicity stared down at his body and found herself not knowing what to do.

The world couldn't know.

She'd promised.

No one could connect Oliver Queen with the Arrow.

No one.

The green hood had been discarded on the floor. She stared down at it remmebering that every other person who had worn it was dead.

Yao Fei.

Shado.

Oliver Queen.

Getting down off the table, she almost couldn't hold her own weight as her feet hit the floor. Felicity held tight to the table for support. She looked from the hood to Oliver's body on the table, this wasn't how it was supposed to end. Felicity bent down and retrieved the green fabric hood, her other hand firmly holding onto the table.

Turning to look back at Oliver, Felicity knew what she /had/ to do. She knew what she /wanted/ to do. Felicity knew that her world had ended. Those bullets might as well have killed her…

Her fingers moved through the fabric of the hood. Felicity let go of the table as she moved towards him. She had a whole list of things that she had to do now and she wouldn't be able to rest until every last item was done. Leaning over, she placed a kiss on his cold lips. "I love you, Oliver Queen… I hope you're with your parents...and Tommy...Shado and Yao Fei. I hope it's beautiful...and I hope you find peace."

Felicity moved away from his corpse and turned. It was time to leave her home, it had been /their/ home. She reached out and grabbed her discarded quiver from her chair nearby before slinging it over her shoulder. She sucked in a deep breath, trying to somehow bring a sense of calm...it didn't work. She was fueled by emotions. Felicity pulled on the green hood before grabbing her bow and heading out of the Foundry.

"Goodbye."

. . .

It was yesterday that she loved what they did, how they protected those who needed to be protected the most. Felicity kept thinking about how much Oliver would disapprove of her out on her own. He was always trying to protect her and keep her safe. He couldn't protect her or keep her safe anymore.

She was alone.

The city had failed him.

The city had failed them both.

It was nearly sunrise, but Felicity was determined to complete her mission. She'd already located her targets and had been successfully stalking them. She just had to wait for the perfect moment. She couldn't fail this mission, that would mean that she'd failed him.

She couldn't fail him.

It seemed like so much longer since she'd actually been within Starling City proper. She and Oliver had stuck close byt he Foundry for so long. There just hadn't been a reason to be in the city…

Until now.

The realization of their location in the city made her uneasy. She knew that this would be complicated, but she couldn't just let this go. This was something that Felicity /had/ to do. It had to be done /now/. /Tonight/.

She wouldn't fail him.

Felicity had almost thought that she was going to lose her chance when she heard the police radio, alerting them to an alarm going off. She continued to stalk her prey. Hidden in the shadows, she waited until they emerged from the building they'd been sent to check because of the alarm that had gone off and been reported to the police department.

She had them in her sight and they were going to die. /Tonight/. Now. They didn't deserve to live another hour. Felicity knew now that she should have taken the shots the moment that they'd shot at Oliver. He'd still be alive right now, if she had.

Her aim was perfect for her first target.

"You. Have. Failed. This. City," Felicity shouted and it echoed off of the surrounding building walls.

The arrow was released and almost seemed to travel in slow motion as it made its way towards the first cop. It hit him square in the chest and he was on the ground before she could string her next arrow.

"Dispatch! I need help-" the other officer tried to radio, but he was soon silenced by an arrow.

Those responsible for Oliver's death were now dead. She didn't feel anymore at ease, but she felt a bit numb. The numbness was better than the pain.

. . .

Carefully, she wrapped Oliver's body in a blanket. She didn't know what else to do. How was she going to explain the death of Oliver Queen? Diggle was so much better with the stories than she was. She had to make sure that his death was in no way connected to the Arrow… She didn't know how to do that. Everyone knew that Oliver Queen had been off of the radar for months now… Very few people knew what he'd actually been doing… What they'd been doing…

She unzipped the black leather jacket she was wearing and pulled the cell phone from the inside pocket. She stared at the screen for a moment. Diggle had called her an hour before. There was a voicemail. She had to tell him, but she couldn't bring herself to listen to the voicemail. She tapped her screen in order to redial Diggle.

"Felicity? How's Oliver?" Diggle asked immediately before she could even get out a greeting.

What greeting was appropriate in this situation?

She took a breath.

"Felicity?"

"Oliver's dead."

"What? What happened? Are you hurt?" Diggle rattled off quickly. "I'm coming-"

"He was shot. I tried-" She wanted to break down. She did. She felt like she should, but it was like her body couldn't stand the tears or the sobs or anything else related with grief or mourning. "I tried, John, but it wasn't good enough… I woke up and he was gone…"

"Are you hurt?"

"No," she whispered and she wondered why that mattered. Nothing mattered now. Oliver was gone. He'd been her life… What could she possibly do now? Her life was over. She almost wished that she'd let the second police officer get off a shot before she'd let go of the arrow. Maybe then, she could have laid next to Oliver and just allowed herself to bleed out.

"Where are you?"

"The Foundry."

Where else would she be? That was the only place that she and Oliver ever were. They'd even converted the spare room area into 'their' room. Felicity had just stopped going to her apartment, so it made sense.

"I'm coming to you," he told her.

"What do we do, John?"

"I'm going to be there as fast as I can," Diggle told her. "I'm walking out the door right now."

"What do /I/ do?"

"Stay there. Just, whatever you do, Felicity. Don't leave the Foundry."

"Okay," she whispered and had a feeling that he was worried that she'd do something stupid. That she'd go out and her own. She'd already done that. She wouldn't tell him that now, though. She wouldn't explain that she'd killed two police officers because they'd been responsible for Oliver's death.

As soon as she set the phone down on the nearby table, she knew he was there. Even before she heard the gun. It was only a matter of time.

Good, she thought.

"You killed those officers, didn't you?"

Detective Quentin Lance.

She'd been expecting him.

"We went to that alley...to help a woman…" she told him, not turning. She stared at Oliver's wrapped body on the table. "A woman that was being attacked by three men." She paused. "Oliver was taking care of things and then they showed up… They shot at him. They /shot/ him." Felicity reached out and grabbed her bow, she knew what she was doing.

"Felicity!"

Quentin Lance was the only other person in Starling City that knew Oliver's secret. He was the only other person who knew who the Arrow was.

She turned to him, bow in hand. Felicity reached back and pulled an arrow from the quiver and started to place it on the bowstring.

"Don't do this!" he shouted. He was standing near the bottom of the stairs, gun drawn and ready.

"I dug six bullets from his body," Felicity told him. "Who knows how many they actually shot off… /Six/." She felt all too calm at this moment. She didn't know why. Felicity pulled her bow up and knew that she didn't have the shot, well she did...it was the shot she wanted. It was enough to scare him, but it wouldn't hit him. Enough for him to /think/ she'd wanted to hit him.

"Felicity, Sweetheart… Put down the bow," Quentin begged. "We'll figure everything out. Please!"

"I killed those men," Felicity told him.

"They weren't supposed to be there… They had orders not to engage the Arrow."

She knew he was right. They'd had an understanding with the police for some time now.

"They were new." Quentin Lance was crying now. "They were boys, Felicity… Don't make me hurt you, Felicity… Please! I don't want to! Just...we have to figure things out!"

"No one can know who the Arrow is…"

"I know."

"Diggle is coming…"

"Felicity, please!"

"Will you tell him something for me?"

"No! You're going to tell him!"

"Tell him that I love him. That I'm sorry. That my partner needed me."

"Felicity! Don't!"

. . .

The End.


End file.
